HONG KONG (AP) – The sudden arrest of dozens of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, with the wider use of a new national security law to date, is a clear sign of Beijing’s determination to curb ‘political opposition to the former British colony.
The rally on Wednesday morning, widely condemned by Western government officials and human rights groups, is likely to further cool a protest movement that is already waning in semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Police arrested about 50 people, far more than in previous cases under the 6-month national security law. Recipients appeared to include all candidates who had run in unofficial opposition primaries last year ahead of the elections scheduled for the Hong Kong legislature. City leader Carrie Lam ended the election, citing the coronavirus pandemic. Activists called on her to try to thwart the opposition’s expected gains.
HOW CAN A PRIMARY BE A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY?
Security Secretary John Lee said the detainees were suspected of trying to gain control of the legislature to paralyze government business. The subversion section of the national security law criminalizes “seriously interfering with, altering or undermining the exercise of functions and functions” of Chinese or Hong Kong governments.
Lam said at the time of the primaries that if his purpose was to resist all government initiatives, he could be wrong to subvert state power. The central government labeled Hong Kong’s electoral system as the main illegal and “serious provocation”.
WHAT IS THE PROBABLE IMPACT?
The arrests will remove more activists from the site, reducing the possibility of renewed protests and eliminating many as future candidates for office. They warn a younger generation that backed the protests in 2014 and 2019 that even maintaining an unofficial primary could lead to legal action that could seriously affect their future.
Human Rights Watch said about the extent to which repression generates resistance, but tough restrictions on opposition activity and the persistent effects of coronavirus on public life and the economy could definitely delay or discourage the emergence of a new generation ready to face Beijing.
WHY NOW?
Beijing has been relentless in its efforts to prevent a repeat of the 2019 protests, which became increasingly violent in response to the government’s refusal to entertain protesters ’demands. They plunged Hong Kong into its biggest political crisis since returning to the Chinese government in 1997.
China is also determined to expel what it sees as unjustified interference by the foreign government in its internal affairs. The nation’s new military, economic, and political influence encourages it to confront the West and can take advantage of the distractions resulting from pandemics and political disruptions in the United States and Europe.
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This story has been corrected to show that the age of the security law is six months and not seven months.